ESPN grants Craig James time off to weigh Senate run

ESPN analyst and former football standout Craig James has requested at least one game away from the broadcast booth as he weighs the possibility of running for U.S. Senate in Texas.

Josh Krulewitz, a spokesman for ESPN, said James will not be a commentator for the “Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl” in St. Petersburg, Florida on Tuesday as scheduled, but is currently on the schedule to broadcast two more bowl games this season.

Krulewitz said James is still scheduled to announce a bowl game that features the Universities of Texas and California in San Diego on Dec. 28 and Ohio State University and the University of Florida in Jacksonville on Jan. 2.

The report from ESPN adds to recent speculation that James, 50, is considering running for the Republican Senate seat that will be vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison. The deadline for candidates to file is Monday.

So far, the race is packed full with big names in Texas politics including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, former Texas solicitor general Ted Cruz and former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert.

If he files to run, the former Southern Methodist University and New England Patriots running back will be hoping his notoriety will help him tackle his opponents and overcome a late start.

His recognition, however, might work against him for some college football fans.

James was involved in the firing of Texas Tech football head coach Mike Leach in 2009 after James filed a complaint that Leach mistreated his son after he suffered a concussion.

Leach denies the allegations and has since sued the university naming James as a defendant. The case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

James was also part of the record-setting backfield at SMU alongside Eric Dickerson in the early 1980’s. Later that decade, SMU was penalized by the NCAA for violations involving paying players, but James denies all involvement and was never directly cited for violations by the NCAA.

In the past two years, James joined a conservative think tank in Austin, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and founded the organization Texans for a Better America to raise money and promote conservative policies.